According to the EPA “More food reaches landfills and incinerators than any other single material in municipal solid waste (MSW). In 2010 alone, more than 34 million tons of food waste was generated, with only three percent diverted from landfills and incinerators for composting.“

How can you help? Think about portion sizes – especially when eating out. Can you share a dish with someone? Don’t forget you can always order more if you are still hungry, but my bet is that you won’t be. How about taking home the left overs? Remember that container ends up in a landfill. This may seem a little weird to some people, but there is nothing wrong with bringing a take-along container for left overs or buying some compostable containers and using those instead of Styrofoam. Secondly, think about what you throw away in your trash. Is there anything you can set aside in a large “dump bucket” such as citrus rinds, apple cores, coffee filters, etc. that you can dump into a compost pile? I don’t have one but I go back out to the woods and scatter these type scraps in the brush out back and let me tell you – that is some happy brush. Or even better – save those veggie scraps, such as the ends of onions, carrot peels and pepper ribs and seeds in a gallon size bag in the freezer. Once it is filled pour all the veggie scraps in a large stock pot, cover with water and make broth. See this recipe for Vivian’s Vivacious Vegetable Broth. You can then save that gallon bag and reuse it over and over and you save money on broth.

In the spirit of reduce, reuse and recycle I created this recipe to use those broccoli stems that always stare you in the face, challenging you to do something with them.

This is one of those salads that is so good, you realize simple is better. Add in your favorite protien to make this a complete meal or use this sauce/dressing recipe on ANYTHING – from topping some tofu, to a simple salad, or even as a dip. And if broccoli crowns are all you have, feel free to use those!